Conn. plans for federal Sandy relief released

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Two plans detailing how Connecticut will spend $82.5 million in federal relief for damage caused by Superstorm Sandy are now available for public comment.

On Wednesday, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced the release of the plans, which will be open for comment for at least a week.

In one plan, a $72 million block grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be used to repair and reconstruct housing, infrastructure and public facilities damaged by the storm.

In February, HUD allocated $5.4 billion in disaster recovery funding to jurisdictions affected by Superstorm Sandy, including $1.83 billion for New Jersey, $1.77 billion for New York City, and $1.71 billion for New York state. New Jersey submitted its plan in March, and New York state and New York City did so in April.

HUD has not yet received plans from Maryland and Rhode Island, which were allocated $8.6 million and $3.2 million in disaster relief.

The state Department of Housing drafted the plan for Connecticut's $72 million allocation after receiving mandatory approval from the General Assembly earlier this month. Members of the public have until midnight on June 4 to send comments to the agency, which will then submit a final plan to HUD.

The other plan announced Wednesday specifies how $10.5 million in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funding will be used over three years to address the health care, mental health and child care needs of people affected by the storm.

The state Department of Social Services, which drafted the plan, is accepting comments for two weeks. A public hearing on the plan slated to be held by the legislature's Appropriations and Human Services Committees has not yet been announced.

The National Hurricane Center estimates that Superstorm Sandy, which pounded Connecticut and several other states in late October, caused $50 billion in damage. In Connecticut, a few deaths were reported and hundreds of thousands of business and residential customers lost power.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has already approved more than $280 million to Connecticut individuals, businesses and municipalities affected by the storm.